Have My Past Forgiven

©iStock/Viadi333

"The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came to do three things. He came to have my past forgiven, you get a purpose for living and a home in Heaven." – Rick Warren 

AI Is Transforming the Global Business Landscape

©iStock/Shutter2U

A discussion on the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the global business landscape, highlighting how AI-driven strategies are revolutionizing industries worldwide.

Join the Atlantic Council for a dynamic discussion hosted by the WIn Fellowship, part of the Atlantic Council’s empowerME initiative, on April 25 from 1:00 p.m. (ET) to 2:00 p.m., at the Atlantic Council and virtually via Zoom.

The expert panel will dive into the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the global business landscape, highlighting how AI-driven strategies are revolutionizing industries worldwide.

Why Did the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse So Catastrophically?

©iStock/WilliamSherman

When the loaded container ship Dali destroyed one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge's main support columns (see photo), the entire structure was doomed to fail. 

"Any bridge would have been in serious danger from a collision like this," said Nii Attoh-Okine, professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland.

Bridges work by transferring the load they carry ‒ cars, trucks or trains ‒ through their support beams onto columns or piles sunk deep into the ground. But they also depend on those support columns to hold them up.

Opened in 1977, the bridge was 1.6 miles long and was the world's third-longest continuous-truss bridge span, carrying about 31,000 vehicles a day.

Read more about the long-term impact the collapse will have on shipping and vehicle traffic all along the East Coast.

Top Global Artificial Intelligence Markets Outside the United States

©iStock/Jian Fan

Artificial Intelligence is a top emerging technology with applications across industries and implications for our society. It has been reshaping the global economy and national security.

The global AI industry is thriving. In 2021 (latest report), AI global funding doubled to $66.8 billion, and a record 65 AI companies reached $1B+ valuations, up 442% from the previous year. Each year, more and more companies and governments worldwide adopt AI solutions. 

The report below presents a brief overview of top AI global hubs outside the United States. Each country includes an AI ecosystem overview, government incentives & policies, education & research institutions, leading events, and industry groups. The initial markets for this report were selected based on global rankings, the highest number of AI companies concentrated there, venture capital, and related research institutions.

Read the Artificial Intelligence Report.

Red Flags On Export Controls and Economic Sanctions

©iStock/Suphanat Khumsap

Export controls and economics sanction compliance is a key part of any multinational’s international regulatory risk management. The U.S. government has prioritized enforcement of export controls and economic sanctions laws and regulations, and penalties in individual enforcement actions can reach the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

Educating relevant personnel regarding export controls and economic sanctions red flags is important for numerous reasons.  Here are six (6) from Foley & Lardner.

Today in Global Small Business: The Weather in Your Language

©iStock/NiroDesign

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) provides the weather in your language.
• Who will win the translation battle, AI or human translators?
• Caution for AI translation.
• Quote of the week:  "Words travel worlds. Translators do the driving." – Anna Rusconi
• Some good AI translation software and tools in 2024.
• A translation tool that will convert videos of people speaking into videos of them speaking one of several different languages with matching mouth movements.

Every Type of Dubiousness

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“A facade of skyscrapers facing a lake and behind the facade [Chicago], every type of dubiousness.” – E.M. Forster 

Oh, Be Happy, That is, If You Live in Finland

©iStock/ASphotowed

The World Happiness Report draws on global survey data from people in more than 140 countries. Countries are ranked on happiness based on their average life evaluations over the three preceding years, in this case 2021 to 2023.

The report is a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and an editorial board.  It is the first to include separate rankings by age group, and it brings bad news about life satisfaction among young people in some parts of the world.

Finland is once again the world’s happiest country.

Congrats to Debra Dudley, Recipient of the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Global Exemplary Leadership® 2024!

©2024 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

There are woman business owners and then there are global women business owners.  Congratulations to Debra Dudley, Founder, Oscarware, Inc. for receiving the Gail Adinamis wegg® Award for Global Exemplary Leadership® 2024!

Read on to discover what the award is about and why Debra earned it.

Are Products Sold On Temu Made With Forced Labor?

©iStock/zhaojiankang

Temu, a Chinese-owned e-commerce company, selling everything from clothes to electronics and furniture, first launched in the US in 2022 and later in the UK and the rest of the world.  In case you missed it, they also did six 30-second commercials during this year's Super Bowl that pulled in a record 123 million Americans.  That's the good news.

The bad news:

The shopping giant has been criticized by politicians in the UK and US - a US government investigation finding an "extremely high risk" that products sold on Temu could have been made with forced labor.

Temu says it "strictly prohibits" the use of forced, penal, or child labor by all its merchants.

Read more here how Temu is shaking up the world of online shopping. Check out its history here – from the Cayman Islands to Dublin.

The Opportunities and Challenges of Hiring Internationally for SMBs

©iStock/Ca-ssis

With the rise of entrepreneurship, the need for SMBs to manage their costs, and a talent shortage in the U.S., international hiring will continue growing at an accelerated pace. Access to international talent will become increasingly important for U.S. SMBs’ success – and so will their need for tools and processes that make it easier for their global teams to collaborate.

Discover the top reasons SMBs hire internationally.

Today in Global Small Business: Why Are the Houthis Attacking the Red Sea Ships?

©iStock/PeterHermesFurian

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Why are the Houthis attacking the Red Sea ships.
• The Red Sea shipping crisis:  lessons for importers.
• The impacts of the Red Sea crisis.
• Quote of the week:  "What’s happened right now is short-term chaos, and chaos leads to increased costs,” says Ryan Petersen, CEO of the supply chain management company Flexport. “Every ship that gets rerouted has 10,000 containers on it.  It’s a lot of emails and phone calls getting made to replan each of those container journeys.”
• Many companies are impacted by the Red Sea conflict, including the arts.
• How the shipping industry is dealing with the tensions in the Red Sea.

The Irish Emit a Kind of Happiness, a Joy

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Even when they have nothing, the Irish emit a kind of happiness, a joy." —Fiona Shaw [Happy St. Patrick's Day 2024!  Photo of Grace O'Malley's.]

Say Hello to Sora, the Next AI Game Changer

©iStock/tiratus phaesuwan

OpenAI has introduced new technology – Sora – that uses artificial intelligence to create high-quality videos from text descriptions. 

The company released short clips showcasing vivid, seemingly realistic videos, including woolly mammoths trekking across a snowy field, ocean waves crashing against a cliff’s shoreline and people doing everyday things like reading a book or walking down a city street.

You heard it here second.  The Wall Street Journal reported it first.

Tmall Global: Serving 100 Million Customers in a Decade

©iStock/Adriana Montoya

Tmall Global’s cross-border goods are stocked in warehouses in China’s biggest cities, making next-day delivery possible for over half of its orders. 

What is Tmall Global?  Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global has built a cross-border platform serving over 100 million customers in the last ten years – helping brands from British beauty devices brand CurrentBody to Australian health products producer Blackmores reach China’s consumers. 

Take a look at their major milestones from launch to running China’s largest platform for imported goods.  You'll also spot quite a few familiar American faces selling their wares through Tmall Global.

A Barbie (Billie) Break (Listen)

The Potential of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) For Global Growth

©iStock/metamorworks

From a global standpoint, almost three-quarters (73 percent) of business leaders are excited by the potential of AI and large language models (LLMs) for business expansion—and this excitement is well-warranted. AI and LLMs are going to enable global growth in a way never before seen.

Learn more how AI will shape global business expansion in 2024 and the top 4 trends to watch.

Today in Global Small Business: Accelerating Women's Economic Empowerment

©iStock/Media Lens King

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• 5 things to accelerate women's economic empowerment.
• Women own almost half of all Indonesian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  However, these women often have difficulty borrowing money to invest in their businesses/
• Empowering SMEs for innovation and success.
• Quote of the week:  "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." – Bill Gates
• Empowering Africa's economic growth.
• SME strategies for 2024.

The Irish

©2019 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"There are two kinds of people in the world:  the Irish and those who wish they were." – Irish Saying

Saluting All Women Worldwide For Their Enormous Achievements

©iStock/PeterSnow

"The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate and expand her sense of actual possibilities." – Adrienne Rich